They're NOT All Evil
by Fairywm
Summary: Harry and the gang sit Ron down and show him that not all Slytherins are evil and not all Hufflepuffs are duffers. This action makes a mature man out of the youngest male Weasley. For once, I'm making Ron a good guy.


**They Are NOT All Evil**

 **Summary: Harry and the gang sit Ron down and show him that not all Slytherins are evil and not all Hufflepuffs are duffers. This action makes a mature man out of the youngest male Weasley. For once, I'm making Ron a good guy.**

 **Thanks to the beta I had on the first time the story was posted, LadyLini, for all her help in making these easier to read for you my readers. This time I thank darrelldeam and alix33 for looking it over. All mistakes are still my own.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter that pleasure belongs to J.K. Rowling, and all the people who she gave permission to have it make her rich. I just play in her sandbox.**

 **Hphphp**

It was the winter break of Harry Potter's fifth year. He had just saved Arthur Weasley from dying of a snakebite, via a vision he had had just before the break. He was very worried about his connection to the Dork Lord, but right now his friends needed him. So he was sitting with the youngest four of Weasley family, Hermione and Sirius Black at Grimmauld Place. It was just after Yule, and they were all sitting in the living room, discussing what was going on in the school that year. Harry was very tempted to tell Sirius about the blood quill, but the man looked like he was happy right now, so he had just finished saying that he had loads of unpleasant detention.

"That and she's added all these decrees," Hermione added, worrying her lip. "You can barely walk down the hall without getting detention, unless you're Slytherin."

"Umbridge is evil, I tell you. I'll bet she was Slytherin. That's probably why she treats them so well, the slimy snakes," Ron snorted, flipping an exploding snap card out of sheer boredom.

"Yeah, she was, but—" Hermione started, only to be interrupted by Ron.

"See, all Slytherins are evil. No good comes out of that house I tell you," Ron stated firmly, crossing his arms over his chest and flopping back in his chair.

"If you would let me finish—" she glared at Ron, "—Dolores Umbridge _was_ a Slytherin, but her dad, Orford Umbridge, was a Hufflepuff and worked at the Ministry as a janitor. He was the one who actually taught her to hate everything. He is an evil and vile man, and it's only because he is lazy that he isn't the one causing so much trouble. I'll bet she gets rid of him as an embarrassment soon," she added with a nod of her head.

"Really? A Hufflepuff?" Harry asked with a snort. "That's a bit hard to believe. I mean, yeah, they've got Smith and he's a right arse, but really? Evil?" What about her mum?" he had never heard of an evil Hufflepuff. His entire career at Hogwarts he had been told they were duffers. Though he was getting the impression they should not be underestimated, he still couldn't believe there was a bad one.

"But they're all duffers," said Ron, echoing Harry's thought.

"That is just plain stupid of you to think," Ginny snapped at the two boys. "Susan's aunt is the head of the DMLE, how could you possible think she's a duffer?"

"Ginny's right, it is foolish of you two to clump them together," Sirius put in his two knuts' worth.

"So, Hermione, Umbitch's dad was evil but lazy. Did he try and take over the world and find it was too much work, so he trained his daughter, or something? What about her mum? Was she a Hufflepuff too?" Harry asked again to get away from the tension.

"Oh, yes, he tried to get higher up in the Ministry, but, unlike his daughter, he had no pull or blackmail. He is a bigot, no doubt about that, and I'm pretty sure you nailed that on the head. Anyway her mum, Ellen Cracknell, was a Muggle, and her brother was a squib. They were kicked out of the family. It really doesn't make sense that a bigot would marry a muggle, but there you are. So, yeah, Dolores was a bad egg, but her mum and brother were not. It was her Hufflepuff dad that was," Hermione huffed. She made it her duty to look up any DADA teacher she could after her second year. Despite the fact that most DADA teachers couldn't be found in the library's records, Umbridge could because she worked for the current Ministry.

"That's because all Slytherins are evil slimy snakes," Ron inserted, once more giving his opinion. He was still wrapping his brain around an evil Hufflepuff.

"You know, Ron, I didn't think you thought of your grandmother as a 'slimy evil snake'. I wonder how she feels about that," Sirius said to the indignant boy with a confused look. "Or my cousin Andromeda. You know, Tonks's mum," he added. It made him wonder where the kid got his info. "That is one of the nicest ladies I know. I don't appreciate you calling her names." He glared at the child.

"My grandmum was not a slimy snake!" Ron shouted, leaping from his chair, shocking the entire room.

"Um, Ron, yeah, she was," Fred said, looking at his twin, George, questioningly, who gave him the same look back.

"Didn't ya know?" George asked, looking at Ron as if he were a strange bug. "I mean, how could you not know?"

"Grandma Weasley was a Black before she married Grandpa. I thought everyone in the family knew that. Why do you think we don't yell about Slytherins? I know a few people that are famous that were Slytherins and not evil," Ginny said, joining the discussion.

"Wait; don't tell me you guys like Slytherins. You prank them all the time," Ron accused pointing at the twins.

"No, we prank the bullies," they both replied.

"What about when you do the whole house?" Ron said smugly.

"Ron, we've hit all the houses," George said, looking down his nose at his little brother.

"Even Gryffindor," Fred added, giving Ron the same condescending look.

"Come on, everyone; let's go into the tapestry room. I'll show you a few on the family tree," Sirius said, getting up and leading the teens into the tapestry room.

"What are you going to show us, Sirius?" Harry asked as they walked down the hall.

"I'm going to point out a few people. Before me my whole family was in Slytherin. I know when I was in school I used to think the same as Ron. It was your grandmother that changed my mind. Ah, here we go," the dogman said as they entered the room.

Harry perked up at that statement, but then forgot about it as he looked around the room in awe. The whole room was filled with a painted family tree. He had never seen anything like this.

"Phineas Black Jr." the only adult pointed to a blacked out picture. "He didn't take his father's point of view on the topic of pure-blood supremacy and was disowned by the family for supporting Muggle rights. He was the Old Phineas Black's son. Now that one was rotten to the core. He was known as the worst Headmaster of Hogwarts," Sirius said, pointing out each Phineas on the tapestry in turn. "Anyway, they were both in the house of serpents."

"See, that old headmaster was evil," the youngest male redhead stated.

"Honestly, Ron, don't you listen? Sirius said both of them were in Slytherin, and the son was a good man," Hermione said, smacking him on the back of the head. "He supported the Muggles. Try to pay attention."

"Here is your grandmother, Cedrella Weasley, née Black. As you can see, she was blasted off for marrying a blood-traitor," Sirius continued with his finger sliding down the tree, "and here is Andromeda Tonks, née Black—also sorted into Slytherin. Then there's me, though I was in Gryffindor." He looked at the tree with a hint of sorrow. He was the last Black. After him, the once strong family will be dead. _Oh well,_ he thought sadly, _at least I left all my money to Harry. I can call the family extinct so no one can take that from him. I don't want the Malfoys to get it. I'd better sneak out and claim my Lordship so that doesn't happen. I'll do it when the kids go back to school._

"Why didn't anyone tell me that Grandma Weasley was a snake?" Ron asked, thoroughly confused. He loved his grandma; she was the kindest person he knew. She always made sure he had snacks at her house. And she told him stories when he couldn't sleep. How could she be Slytherin? It just didn't make sense.

"We thought you knew," the other three Weasleys said as one, then chuckled when they realized they all spoke.

"Well, I didn't," the youngest male Weasley pouted, still mulling everything over and staring at the family tree. He recognized a lot of people on there, and had no idea the Blacks were related to so many families. At least all of this was taking his mind off his dad.

"Ron," Harry said, drawing his attention away from the tapestry, "do you have your Chocolate Frog Cards?" he asked politely as he turned to face his best mate. While he agreed Umbitch was a vile and evil person, he knew that not all Slytherins were.

"Yeah," Ron said, tilting his head to the side trying to figure out what that had to do with what they were talking about, "I pretty much carry them everywhere. Do you want to see them? Not really sure about your timing, though." He gave his friend a bemused look.

Harry smiled at his friend's confusion, "Could you go get them? I want to show you something, and I'm sure Sirius and Hermione can help me out." He looked to the two and could see they understood what he was about to do.

Ron shrugged and left to get his cards.

"Meet us back in the living room," Sirius called after him. The rest of the group went to the living room and waited for Ron to return with his collection.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Harry?" Hermione asked as she sat in the chair by the fire. "I mean, I know what you're doing, but are you sure this will work?" She had been trying to beat it into Ron's head from day one that not all Slytherins were evil, but he would just cut her off and remain firm in his beliefs. But really to not even know his grandmother was Slytherin was very closed minded. It had taken her years to get Harry to come around, but that was mostly Malfoy's fault. Well, Ron's ranting didn't help. It was only when she pointed out that there were quite a few people in that house that never joined Malfoy's taunts, that she had gotten Harry to agree. It had taken a lot of work.

"I think Harry is on the right track. If anything it will get Ron to thinking," Sirius added as he got comfortable in his chair.

"Thanks, Sirius. Yeah, I know what I'm doing. Ron isn't a bad sort, he's just a bit close minded is all," Harry said, looking at his female friend. Privately he was hoping this worked. He really wanted his friend to be more open-minded. It might just save his life one day. He really hated that Ron reminded him of Malfoy sometimes.

"I hope you're right," she said with a shake of her head.

The other Weasley children took their seats, perking up at the idea that Harry would get it through their stubborn brother's head. It didn't take much to figure out what was up and they would help where they could.

Ron returned to the room with his cards and sat down across from Harry. "Here you go, mate. What did you need them for?" he asked, trying to hand the deck to Harry.

"No, you keep them for a minute," Harry said, gently pushing the box back to the redhead. "So you have almost all the cards. Which one is the most famous wizard in Britain?" he asked casually. He knew, but he had a point to make.

"It was Merlin. Didn't you know?" Ron asked, putting the box down and rubbing his nose.

"Ummm, yeah, I knew. Could you take his card out?" Harry asked. Ron picked up the box and looked through the cards, then took Merlin's out and held it up. It was one of his prize possessions. "Now, read the back, and tell me what house he was sorted in," the dark-haired boy suggested, knowing what his mate would find.

Everyone leaned forward to catch the look on Ron's face when he read the information. It would be priceless.

"Slytherin," Ron whispered in denial. His face was completely awestruck. "That can't be right. There's no way Merlin was in that house." His whole world view came crashing down. He could brush off the Blacks, even his grandma—they were always a weird bunch— but Merlin was the most famous wizard in the world. He was a Light wizard; they named a medal after him. How could he have possibly been in Slytherin?

"Ron, the whole house divide is just stupid. Look here," Harry said a bit hypocritically, after all he just came to that realization. Well, he knew about the Slytherins, thanks to Hermione, but now he had to reevaluate the Hufflepuffs. He leaned over and started looking through the box he had retrieved from the floor, after it fell from Ron's fingers. "'PhillipusAureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493—1541), more commonly known as Paracelsus, was a secretive alchemist about whom very little is known. He also contributed to the field of medicine, having been a notable physician. Paracelsus's bold theories challenged medieval thought. He was credited with the discovery of Parseltongue," Harry quoted. "He was sorted into Slytherin." **

Hermione took over the cards and sorted a few out. "And here, 'Miranda Goshawk was born in 1921, somewhere in Great Britain, the last of nine daughters born to the wizarding Goshawk family. Her family was relatively impoverished by the time she arrived, and she recalls having to wear her sisters' hand-me-down robes, which she found "embarrassing",' " she quoted, then handed the card back to Ron. "She was also a Slytherin,** and she wrote our charms books."

"Figures you would know that one," Harry teased his bookworm friend, "and not any of the others." He turned towards his friend. "Did you know the Malfoys used to do business with Muggles? And one of them tried to court the Queen of England of that time? Don't remember what his name was though…" He scratched his head. "But, yeah, that's how they made all their money after they came here from France. They stopped when the Statute of Secrecy was established. They were all sorted into Slytherin."

Hermione looked as shocked as Ron about that piece of information, though not for the same reason. "How did you know that?" she asked completely shell-shocked, not expecting Harry to know something that trivial.

The other three Weasleys sat quietly and let the trio talk it out. Sirius looked like he was going to interrupt, but Harry gave him a shake of his head, so he just sat back and watched.

"Well, it's said that you should know your enemy," Harry said with a shrug, "and the Malfoys, for all their spouting of blood-traitors, are a bunch of hypocrites," he added smugly. That had been a wonderful bit of information to find, and if he got his chance he was going to rub it in that git's face.

"I know that look, Harry, don't start anything," Hermione said with a glare. "Where did you learn that anyway?"

"I looked it up in the library. They have tons of books on the ' _Sacred Twenty-Eight_ '," the dark-haired boy said, with air quotes, and then a thoughtful look passed over his face. "Hmm, let me see if I can remember who they all are." He thought for a minute and flapped his hand at Hermione to shush her. *" _The Sacred Twenty-Eight_ are said to be the only pure-blood family left in Britain in 1930. They are: Abbott, Avery, Black, Bulstrode, Burke, Carrow, Crouch, Fawley, Flint, Gaunt, Greengrass, Lestrange, Longbottom, Macmillan, Malfoy, Nott, Ollivander, Parkinson, Prewett, Rosier, Rowle, Selwyn, Shacklebolt, Shafiq, Slughorn, Travers, Weasley, and Yaxley," he said, ticking each name off with his fingers and trying to catch his breath. He then beamed at the fact that he remembered them all.

"The Potters should have been on that list," Sirius mumbled thoughtfully. "Not sure why they aren't 'cause until your dad married your mum, they were pure-bloods. Unless there's someone in the family I don't know about. Anyway, did you know that the Blacks married into almost all of those families?" he gave a sloppy grin at the lengths his family went through to keep it 'pure'.

"My grandparents were pure-blood?" Harry asked, ignoring the last question. "Is that why I'm considered a half-blood? Never mind, I knew that. Just never thought about it, I guess."

"Don't you know who your grandparents are?" Sirius asked, cursing himself for not having told Harry about his family. "Your grandma was Dorea Black.* She married your grandfather, Charles Potter. Though for some reason she wasn't kicked out of the family. Sorry, I didn't point her out in the tapestry room—I figured you knew. Anyway, she's the only reason I can justify leaving everything to you in my will. You're related." He beamed a smile at his godson.

"No, I didn't know," said Harry, shaking his head. "There aren't any books on the Potters in the library, and no one talks about them for some reason." That thought was going to have to be mulled over later. If he could find out about the Malfoys, he should have been able to look up the Potters. He had to wonder if someone pulled those books on purpose.

"We'll talk about them before you go back to school. I'll tell you everything I know," Sirius said. After all, when he had run away as a teen, the Potters were the ones that had taken him in. Since he and James had been good friends in school, he had gotten to know the elder Potters and they always treated him like a son. He felt safe with them. And now he wanted their grandson to feel safe with him.

Harry's friends were still looking at him in amazement. It was usually Hermione that would quote weird stuff like that. "What? I can't know stuff? I wanted to know who they are, might come in handy in the future," the dark-haired boy said, glaring at his friends until they looked away. "Anyway, these guys on the Chocolate Frog Cards are just the famous ones. There are loads of others just like any other house, who just want to live their lives and not take over the world," he shrugged as if it were obvious.

"Yeah, but, those 'sacred twenty-eight' you just listed," Ron snorted, still trying to defend himself. "You'll notice that most of them are Death Eaters. And everyone knows that all the Death Eaters are Slytherin." He still wasn't getting the point.

"Ron," Hermione said firmly, though she vowed to herself to look up the Potters somehow, "you have to know your statement isn't true. Peter Pettigrew was Gryffindor. Professor Quirrell was a Ravenclaw, and I'm sure that there are many others we don't know. You'll get yourself killed one day by thinking like that. You might just trust the wrong person because you only think of the house they were sorted into," she stated firmly to her friend.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"You're underestimating your enemy if you group them all together," Sirius said seriously. "You play chess, so you should know better. I mean, look at the pieces as an army. Merlin knows, both Dumbledore and You Know Who do. You should start thinking about that."

"It's just like you distrust Professor Snape," she continued, ignoring his grumbling. "I mean, we have good reason to hate the man. But Dumbledore trusts him enough to let him in the Order. So, maybe we're missing some information on him and you're letting his house get in the way of finding out what that is. I would think of him as a knight on your chessboard, he can only move within his limits, but they are tricky."

"Yeah, Ron," Ginny said with an apologetic look to Harry and Sirius. "After all, that's what happened to the Potters. Do you really want to be the one that gets your family killed? And look at what's happening to Luna. Those Ravenclaws that bully her are just as bad as Death Eaters—well, maybe not _as_ bad, but they have the potential." She really felt bad for her childhood friend. The poor girl had it rough and she wouldn't tell anyone. Ginny was thinking of going to see Flitwick when she got back from break.

"Really, Ron…" George said, shaking his head.

"sometimes your bigotry…" continued Fred.

"reminds us of Malfoy," they finished together, echoing both Harry's and Hermione's thoughts.

Ron blanched; he had never really thought of it as bigotry—he just knew he was right. He had proof, after all. But now that the evidence was pointed out to him in this way, maybe—just maybe—he was wrong. This was going to take some deep thinking on his part. With that thought, he got up and abruptly stomped out of the room.

"Do you think we got through to him?" Hermione asked worriedly as she watched one of her best friends storm out of the room.

"Merlin, I hope so," Harry said. He too was concerned about his friend, but he also knew that it had needed to be done. Everything they had said to Ron was true, and he needed to get his head out of his arse before he got someone killed—or worse, got himself killed. Ron was a good guy, but he was always so sure that he was right that he couldn't see that there was good and bad in every house. He needed to know this if they were going to go to war and he couldn't overlook anyone. Everyone was a potential ally or enemy. "We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. Let's talk about something else for now."

They spent the rest of the break, just enjoying being away from Umbitch. They knew it was going to be hard when they got back, so they held off anymore deep discussions until they needed them again. Though Sirius did tell Harry about what he knew of the Potters, it was a long night's discussion with just godson and father.

Ron did eventually come around. It was hard to get over years of thinking, but what his friends and family had told him made sense. He started to pay attention to the people around him. Now that he knew evil could pop up in any house, he wanted to make sure that they were safe.

So he started learning spells to protect his friends—stuff that would reveal an enemy. And he started keeping a closer eye on everyone, and because of that, he was the one who prevented Dumbledore's Army from being caught. He noticed Marietta Edgecombe didn't really want to be there and _Obliviated_ her before she could talk to Umbridge.

Hermione then made every other member vow that they would not tell Umbridge where they were and who they were. Cho Chang, who was Edgecombe's best friend, was also booted out and _Obliviated_ when she protested his actions.

Though Dumbledore's Army was never caught, Dumbledore was still relieved of duty on trumped-up charges and the rest of the year ended in the same way, which meant Sirius Black, beloved godfather of Harry Potter, died in the battle of the Department of Mysteries.

The rest of the war is another story, but know that it was because of Ron's new outlook on life that many lives were saved, including his brother Fred.

 **Hphphp**

 _A lot, and I mean_ _a lot_ _, of fics depict Slytherin as a completely evil house. I refuse to believe that all cunning and ambitious people are evil. I know that there are also a lot of fics that depict this, and I've read quite a few good ones, though I can't think of their titles. However, far more put poor eleven year olds as the epitome of evil. I, for one, cannot wrap my brain around that. I've even stopped reading some very well written stories because of that plotline._

 _Everything on here can be found on Harry Potter Wiki except… (*) which is not confirmed, (**) was added since I needed some more Slytherins, they are on Wiki, they just weren't assigned a house and they sounded Slytherin._

 _As with all my oneshots, if you want to take this further be my guest._


End file.
